Banding line



Aug. 22, 1967 w SAWYER ET AL 3,336,86@

BANDING LINE Filed Jan. 20, 1966 INVENTORS GEORGE w. SAWYER HERBERT A. TEWS BY SAM w ATTORNEYS United States Patent G 3,336,860 BANDING LINE George W. Sawyer, Michigan City, Ind., and Herbert A.

Tews, Wilmette, Ill., assignors to National Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 521,836 1 Claim. (Cl. 100-4) This invention relates to coil handling lines for handing coils of narrow strip metal from a slitting operation preparatory to loading the banded coils on skids for shipment.

The invention will be described specifically in respect to steel strip but with obvious modifications the line of the invention can be adapted to handling coils of any narrow strip material.

In steel mills and in steel warehouses, light gage steel strip which has been produced in wide cold reduction mills is slit into a plurality of bands of desired width in order to fill orders for customers desiring the narrow strip for specific purposes. This strip is initially cold reduced in considerable width because of economies in cold mill operation. In practice one heavy coil from a steel mill cold reduction operation will be passed through a slitter and slit into a plurality of narrow strips of equal or different widths, depending upon the demand, and then coiled. These coils of narrow strip, sometimes called bands must be removed from the slitter, separately packaged by placing bands around each coil at spaced points around the coil and the banded coils then placed on skids for shipment. In the past these operations have required considerable labor and the purpose of the present invention is to reduce to a minimum the labor required in handling the coils of narrow width strip during the banding operation and preparatory to the placing of the banded coils on skids for shipment.

The present invention is an improvement on the type of coil handling line illustrated in Hogsten Patent 3,147,691 and the present specification has been simplified as much as possible to avoid duplication of conventional practices and equipment as disclosed in the Hogsten patent. The present specification omits any specific description of the banding machine per se which is well known in the art.

The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible for a single operator to handle as many functions as possible from a single position at the banding machine in a banding line with the maximum number of coils going through the banding line in the shortest period of time. To accomplish this purpose the equipment of the present invention is automated in such a manner as to have the speed with which the bander can operate the banding machine determine the speed at which the coils pass through the banding operation. In this respect the present invention differs from the apparatus and method of the Hogsten patent wherein the speed of the coils.

through the banding operation is determined by the period of time necessary for banding the occasional most troublesome coil passing through the banding machine. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

3,336,860 Patented Aug. 22, 1967 FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the preferred embodiment and FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1.

In the drawing reference numeral 10 refers to a turntable operated by a conventional driving device indicated generally at 12 and carrying tracks indicated generally at 14 for guiding coil cars pushed onto the turntable by tractors. Each coil car indicated generally at 16 comprises a pair of coil supporting, spaced, horizontal members 18 carrying a plurality of coils indicated generally at 20. A rear vertical support 22 on the car holds the coils in upright position but slightly canted to the rear so as to remain stable during transportation from the slitting machine to the banding line. Underframe members 24 and 26 form a framework for coil supporting members 18. Caster type wheels 28 on this framework complete the essential components of the coil car with the exception of a hinged tongue 30, in the form of a strong metal loop or bight. This tongue is hingedly connected to the car framework through member 32.

As shown in FIGURE 1, turntable 10 can accommodate four cars and one car is shown in operative relation to the banding line.

A conventional banding machine is indicated generally at 34 and will be specifically described only insofar as its conveyor system coacts with the other elements of the present combination. This conveyor system is made up of a plurality of rollers 36 driven in unison by motor 38 and chain drive 40. The usual rotatable conical rolls 42 serve to rotate the coil during the banding operation. An operators panel 44 is conveniently positioned close to hand for the banding machine operator. A conveyor indicated generally at 46, the specific construction of which constitutes no part of the present invention, incorporates driven rolls which convey a banded coil away from the banding machine toward a skidding machine where the banded coil is placed on a skid for shipment.

An important part of the present invention is a twosection conveying system indicated generally at 48, both of the sections of which conveying system have driven rolls driven by motors 50 and 52, respectively, and driving chains 54 and 56, respectively. In. each conveyor system the rolls rotate in unison.

A downlayer for picking up the coils singly from the coil car and depositing them on conveyor system 48 is indicated generally at 58. This downlayer is made up of a framework 60 and a coil contacting element 62 which is in the form of a box encasing a magnetic element 64 and a control element 66. At the lower end of the downlayer is a coil supporting element 68. The downlayer is supported on a shaft 69 rigidly aflixed to framework 60 and is actuated by means of a pivoting support system indicated generally at 70. This structure: includes pivots 72 and a linkage system 74, 76. In the drawings, the downlayer is shown in its up position in which it receives a coil from the coil car. The downlayer is moved from its up position to its down position within recess 77 of conveyor system 48 by a pair of hydraulic cylinders 78 and pistons 79 connected to system 70, in which latter position the coil carried by the downlayer is deposited on conveyer system 48.

Conventional limit switches are used as parts of the controlling system including a switch operated by a coil on conveyor system 48 engaging trigger 80 at the exit end of this conveyor system.

The bail 30 constituting the tongue of the coil car has its end engageable in a slot 82 located on the end of a piston rod 84 actuated by hydraulic cylinder 86 at floor level.

The operation of the device is as follows: With a car in the position shown in the drawings and with all the coils on the car, piston rod 84 is located at its ext-reme position to the left. The operator who brought the coil car into this position may latch bail handle into notch 82 in piston rod 84. The downlayer is in the up position. The operator at the banding machine presses button 87 on control box 44 and hydraulic cylinder 86 starts drawing the car toward the downlayer. The downlayer enters between the coil carrying members 18 and when a coil contacts a limit switch 89 on the front of control box 66, hydraulic cylinder 86 is deactivated. At the same time that limit switch 89 stops movement of the coil car by stopping movement of piston rod 84, magnet 64 is energized and this pulls a coil up against the front face of downlayer 58. In this position the weight of the coil will be assumed by coil support member 68 when the downlayer starts to move upwardly. Control box 66 at this time actuates a time delay device 91 which after a short period actuates cylinder 86 to push piston rod outwardly and to the left to move the coil car a short distance away from the coil held on the downlayer. Control box 66 then operates a second time delay mechanism 93 and downlayer 58 with the slit coil held on its face by magnet 64 starts on an arc upwardly. When the downlayer has swung through a sufficient arc so as to assure that the coil will rest securely by gravity on the downlayer, a limit switch 95 deenergizes magnet 64 to avoid objectionable permanent magnetization of the steel in the coil. When the downlayer reaches the extreme downlay position, a limit switch 97 in control box 66 deactivates hydraulic cylinders 78 and starts the coil conveyor system 48. Coil conveyor system 48 will convey the coil toward the banding machine until the coil hits trigger 80 at which time motors 50 and 52. will be deactivated and the coil conveying system 48 will stop.

As the coil on conveyor system 48 enters the holding section 88 and comes to rest against trigger 80, in addition to actuating a switch to stop conveyor system 48, trigger 80 actuates a second switch to initiate return movement of downlayer 58 and downlayer 58 moves back up into upright position. As downlayer 58 enters the extreme upright position a limit switch 99 in control box 66 actuates hydraulic cylinder 86 to draw the coil car toward the face of the downlayer and the cycle is repeated in respect to picking up and downlaying a second coil. If the first coil is still on conveyor section 88 in contact with trigger 80 the conveyor system 48 will be stationary and the second coil will be received and held on section 90 of conveyor system 48. The system will then be at rest awaiting the next signal from control panel 44 of the banding machine operator.

By pressing a second button 92 on control box 44 the banding machine operator deactivates the conveyor system switch operated by trigger 80 and the coil held in this position is moved toward the banding machine by transfer conveyor section 88. Conveyor system 48 continues to run until a coil actuates trigger 80. Both sections 88 and 90 of conveyor system 48 operate in unison and therefore the coil which was in the hold section 90 moves into conveyor section 88 and comes up against trigger 80. This in turn starts the cycle of returning the downlayer to pick up another coil, and so on. Also, pressing button 92 starts up bander conveyor 36 and this conveyor moves a banded coil, if present, out of the banding machine and onto the skidding machine conveyor 46 which takes the coil on toward that device. Conveyor 36 runs until it is stopped by the banding machine operator by pressing button 94 on his control panel when the coil on this conveyor is in the proper position for the banding operation. When the banding machine operator has finished banding a coil and is ready for another coil he again presses button 92 on control box 44. As before, this deactivates the conveyor system switch operated by trigger and a new coil is discharged by the transfer conveyor 88 and conveyor 36 into the banding machine.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that in the line of the present invention so long as the downlayer operates at a speed greater than the speed with which a coil can be banded, the maximum number of coils will pass through the line which the banding machine operator can handle. Thus he is not forced to discard a troublesome coil and at other times await a fresh coil as is the case where movement of the coils through the machine is in timed sequence.

It will be apparent that other apparatus can be utilized while still following the principles of the present invention and the limits of the present invention are therefore to be determined only by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A line for handing coils of narrow strip metal from a slitting operation preparatory to loading the banded coils on skids for shipment comprising:

(a) a coil car for transporting a plurality of the coils from the slitting operation to the banding operation,

(b) means on the coil car holding the coils on their edges in upright position, axially aligned and with their side faces in opposed contiguous relation,

(0) a downlayer for removing coils one at a time from the coil car, the downlayer being initially in an up position for receiving a coil from the coil car,

(d) means for moving the coil car toward and away from the downlayer,

(e) means associated with the downlayer when the downlayer is in the up position for stopping movement of the coil car toward the downlayer when the foremost coil on the coil car is contiguous to the downlayer,

(f) means on the downlayer for engaging the foremost coil on the coil car and for holding the coil against the downlayer with the coil in an upright position,

(g) a power driven coil receiving and holding conveyor for transporting separate coils in horizontal position,

(h) said means actuated by means (f) for moving the downlayer and held coil through an arc to a down position in proximity to said receiving and holding conveyor (g),

(i) means acting between the downlayer in the down position and said receiving and holding conveyor (g) for releasably depositing the coil carried by the downlayer in horizontal position on said receiving and holding conveyor (g),

(j) a power driven coil holding and transfer conveyor for separate coils contiguous to and following said coil receiving and holding conveyor (g) along the line,

(k) a coil banding machine contiguous to and following said coil holding and transfer conveyor (j) along the line, the coil banding machine including a power driven conveying means for receiving a coil to be handed and moving a banded coil out of the banding machine,

(1) a power driven skid machine conveyor for receiving a banded coil from the banding machine and moving the banded coil away from the banding machine,

(m) means causing said conveyors (g) and (j) to convey along the line any coils deposited on them,

(11) means associated with the exit end of said conveyor (j) for stopping conveying action of said conveyors and (i),

(0) manual control means to actuate the conveyor of the banding machine to transfer any banded coil in the banding machine onto the skid machine conveyor and at the same time to deactuate said means (n) to cause one coil to be conveyed from said conveyor (j) into the banding machine, and

(p) means actuated by movement of a coil from said receiving and holding conveyor (g) onto said holding and transfer conveyor (j) for initiating movement of said down'layer (d) back to the down position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Ranney 100-2 Donald 1002 Laine 100-12 Kocher et a1 214-85 X Hogsten 1002 BILLY I. WILHITE, Primary Examiner. 

